TEKTUM Architecture & Art

Tektum have undoubtedly invented, cautiously and recklessly, in place of the perceptive latitude of resigned mediocrity, but also of the suffocating concupiscence of an almost animal-like agility of these cloistered people, the rational horizons of accomplished craftsmanship and full organicity (...) The impassivity, almost apathetic, is thus transformed into a reborn retour en arrière, a return to the origins of the simplest and most precious things, and the sad, modern-day rear-guard is transformed into the future families of those who already feel the dignity destined for the avant-garde.

To say "I think" is to say "I exist". Descartes once wrote that my certainty of thinking and my certainty of existence are simultaneous and inseparable. Tektum's offer: "I live, therefore I exist". From this ontological-moralist rigor of the spatial, especially spiritual, spatiality of existence, a realistic and principled poetic architectural art is derived. Thus, young architects from Cluj become those creators whose work aims to unravel the eternal enigma linked to the misery and the simultaneous, simultaneous greatness of man."

Sándor Kereskényi, museographer, Satu Mare County Museum, excerpts from Anamorphosis

Tektum was founded in the fall of 2005 by the founders (TÓTHFALUSI Gábor TÓTHFALUSI Gábor and TULOGDY László György TULOGDY László György) with the desire to bring a new approach to the design market.

The built heritage of Transylvanian towns and villages (and not only) is for us a model of inspiration when designing buildings, choosing materials and construction techniques, but through the architectural language we create contemporary and durable architectural objects.

We place great emphasis on customizing architecture, on creating solutions (concept, details, approach) that ultimately deliver a unique building. Our concepts are always based on adapting the solutions to the characteristic situations of each project. Through our projects we try to revitalize certain techniques and materials that are on the verge of extinction or at least not widely used.

Seven licensed architects work in the TEKTUM office. We are a young team, but our experience is based on collaboration with renowned architects such as Makovecz Imre or Sáros László Sáros and postgraduate studies in the rehabilitation of historical monuments. During our ten years of activity we have increased the range of services we offer so that we offer services in architecture, interior design, urban planning, project management.

We focus primarily on residential, commercial, public and restoration functions, but we cover the full range of programs.

S HOUSE

In 2009, a young family asked us to help design their family home. They did not yet have land. In 2010, after much searching, they managed to acquire a plot of land with a house in an advanced state of decay, located in a traditional residential area of Cluj-Napoca, in the area of protection of architectural values.

The existing building was in such a dilapidated state that we had to demolish most of it, keeping only a small part of the walls. After a few preliminary sketches, we agreed on the basis and started the authorization process. Construction work started in the spring of 2011 and was completed in the summer of 2012, with the family moving into the new house in the fall of 2012.

From the very first sketches we wanted and aimed to create a building that, although it has a contemporary feel, blends in with the specific inter-war house. At the same time we believe that a family home should have a strong personal character. From this point of view we designed the building as a syncretism of craftsmanship and personalized details.

Planimetrically, the adopted solution is classical. The building has three levels. The basement houses the heating plant, storeroom, bathroom and a small vaulted cellar, the ground floor, the entrance, living room with dining room, kitchen, office and a bathroom, and upstairs there are three bedrooms, wardrobes, two bathrooms.

From the structural point of view, the building is made of brick masonry, ceramic tiled floor, wooden roof.

Volumetrically, the building has been designed as a parallelepiped with a diagonally rotated roof. From this parallelepiped was extracted the access volume which develops only on the ground floor. The useful volume of the building has the shape of the letter L, with the long side perpendicular to the street and develops in an east-west direction.

Aesthetically, the building has received a ventilated exposed brick envelope, titanium-zinc sheeting, andesite glazing, and wooden cladding.

The interior was aimed at creating a unified image and a dialog with the outside, including the use of certain materials.

For the fence and the landscaping of the courtyard, the materials used in the realization of the house were used again: brick, wood, and andesite stone, all of which were meticulously and meticulously executed according to our instructions.

Although during the design we had many discussions, correlations, in the end, we can say that the result obtained is in accordance with our criteria and we believe that the execution was realized thanks to the wishes of the beneficiary, his trust in our ideas.

HOUSE C

Located in Cluj-Napoca, Andrei Mureșanu neighborhood, the presented house belongs to a young family for whom the proximity to the historic center, but also the location in a special residential area were the primary criteria in choosing the location.

The Andrei Mureșanu neighborhood was formed in the early 20th century by subdividing the area and laying out the streets in order to create a new suburb. The area is best known for its elegant, representative villas, with a regular grid of streets and lots of similar size and shape. Several buildings in this select neighborhood are also listed as historic landmarks.

The building under study is located at 1-3 Zrinyi Miklós Street, on a plot of about 1,000 square meters, with a generous street frontage. On the site there was a house consisting of two residential units and a symmetrical facade decorated with eclectic elements. The wish of the owners was to preserve the historic character of the building, to functionally rethink and extend the house with new living spaces.

The volumetric and functional concept envisaged keeping the basic core of 4 rooms facing the street and extending the house with a new volume that could include a basement and a generous garage. The intention was to differentiate these two distinct elements. The old component was functionally rethought, but the decorative details of the facade (plaster decorations molded after the negatives of the existing elements, limestone plinth, zinc ornaments) and the roof form (covered with scaled tiles) were preserved and emphasized. The extension from the courtyard contrasts with the texture of the facades and the flatter roof slope.

The main access area is located between the two volumes and is realized through a windfang inspired by the wooden verandas of the houses in the area. At the center of gravity is the main hall with a spiral staircase, and around this hall, on two levels, the main functions gravitate. On the ground floor are the kitchen, the office, the fitness room and the package consisting of the dining area, the living room and the terrace, which form an open, unitary space. The upstairs is entirely reserved for the night area and consists of 3 bedrooms with related annexes.

The interiors are characterized by simple lines, the natural wood used for the floors and wall cladding (brushed bleached oak) combined with white painted woodwork elements inspired by eclecticism, interweaves modernity with the existing historical character in the exterior architectural language. Colorful rugs, draperies and tapestries create an atmosphere of comfort and relaxation, and the outdoor terrace clad with wood decking and surrounded by lawn is the ideal family retreat.

Plan Cafe, Cluj-Napoca

The cafe-bar building was born in 2014 at the request of some longtime collaborators to valorize a potentially valuable piece of land. On the land there was a ruined ground floor building.

A late work by Makovecz Imre, the Reformed Church, stands nearby. The cafeteria building is connected to the north by an existing bus-barn building, to the west it is flanked by a parking lot and building, and to the south there is a square adjacent to the Radio Broadcasting building. To the east is a vacant lot.

The architecture of the building does not go beyond the program-theme, the function and architecture is clear, simple. In our case as a response to external influences: narrow building plot, program-theme, the result is an easy to read building with transparent spaces, maximum openness. The ground floor is a café space, the wall towards the park is open, with the possibility of extension with terrace. Upstairs, an enclosed space has been formed with the ability to open to the outdoor terrace, which has a screen-grid screen for comfort and privacy. External influences include the existing ruined building, the bricks of which were reused to clad the new building.

Makovecz's building with its surrealistic composition cannot provide a fertile ground, only an accent with strongly asymmetrical influences, it demands its own space, its own private universe in a sad existing site. That is why the architectural language used in the café is neutral, quotations are dispensed with. It has a rather geometric composition, it shows brick, apparent concrete, wood. The colors are well-chosen, the reddish color of the brick is contrasted by accents of rough apparent concrete and wooden latticework painted in a greenish-gray color.

The building space is a prism built between two massive brick piers. The side facade is partially plastered with a wooden lattice that relates to the street facade and interiors.

Huning Offices, Cluj-Napoca

The presented building is positioned in an area with development trend in the segment of offices and warehouses. Several office and warehouse buildings have already appeared on the adjacent land. The area consists of narrow, long plots of land, with buildings on one side of the plot. The surveyed plot is approximately 1,400 square meters.

The wish of the beneficiary was to have a building that in the front, facing the street, has a small office and in the back can carry out its current business. At the same time, the major demand was that the building should reflect the attention to detail and quality that Huning demands.

The architecture of the building is simple, honest. The building has a linear composition and is designed as a mono-volume with a vertical accent (the storey) at the front of the building, and a warehouse area developing at the rear.

The office space is accessed through a portico formed by a string of timber frames, which continues into the warehouse volume.

In the office area, on the ground floor there is the anteroom, show-room area, office, restrooms and staircase. Upstairs there are offices, kitchen and restroom. The storage space is unique.

Aesthetically, the materials that characterize the language of the architectural firm - brick, wood clinker, exposed concrete - were proposed.

Agritouristic Guesthouse Ordona, Stana

Stana is one of the villages in the ethnographic area of Călata, with sunny hills and a strong tradition of woodworking and vernacular traditions.

The village is also known thanks to the architect Kós Károly, who settled there in the inter-war period and built his house, which is known in architectural history books as Varjúvár (Castle of the Crows).

The guesthouse, though long out of the way, is a tribute to the master. It respects all the constructive features: it is a modern house, with a reformulated interior space, but using traditional elements and details used in many buildings designed by the architect.

The land has a low slope, the building is firmly anchored by a plinth of cut yellowish stone.

The volumetry is simple, between two massive white gables sits a building volume with a pronounced roof and eaves, resting on stone posts. The poetry of the house lies in the play and rhythm of alternating traditional and contemporary building elements, in the choice of materials and textures.

The materials used give the building a warm, domestic feel. The guesthouse is finished with white plaster alternating plywood and stone elements. The tiles are traditional, natural colored tiles. The dominant colors are greenish-gray for the wood cladding, white for the walls, light wood for the woodwork, yellowish stone for the plinth cladding.

The building was realized with European funding, complying with the requirements of the bodies for the development of local rural tourism (restrictions on volumetry, parapament, full-hollow ratio, roof shape, materials used, etc.). Thus, on the ground floor there are public spaces - dining area, living room, sports halls, toilets, small kitchen, and on the upper floors there are eight rooms with annexes (six on the first floor/attic and two in the attic area).

The floor and roof structure is visible from the inside.

Some of the furnishings were designed with the house. The interior is in keeping with the image from the outside: it is an honest, clean space that does not stray from the theme-program. But the same warm, natural materials are present.

The building is a happy example, demonstrating a craftsman's understanding of materials, with the image of a cozy and welcoming home, perfectly integrated into its context.